Energy

Whatever concerns energy and the ways to produce it goes here

Book Review: Sustainable energy – without the hot air

I finished reading this weekend a book I strongly recommend to anyone interested by sustainable development and energy as it is packed with figures and findings that are due to start discussions among CleanTechies. One of the main findings of this book is that electrifying our cars and installing heat pumps in our buildings would […]

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Japan to invest $21 billion in space-based solar

I like creative ideas and I love everything related to space. Needless to say I am also a strong supporter of solar energies. Yet, I find that investing 14,7 billion euros in space-based solar is preposterous. All this money will be invested to see if it is feasible to have one GW of power by

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Could the US tax more gasoline ?

It is a well known fact, US gasoline tax is ridiculously low compared to many countries in the European Union and other nations. The table on the left brings data from the OECD on this. US drivers pay less than 10 euro cents per liter of tax when their German, British, Italian, French or Turkish

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Energy sprawl is another reason to mix sources

Even if this not new as I wrote about this very issue as early as June 2008, the additional research bring us more data on how renewables – and especially biofuels – need much more land to generate energy than traditional solutions. As you can see with the graph biofuels are by far the least

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Is waste to energy a good idea ?

There is a lot of buzz going on about waste to energy as many cities are thinking about it. Meanwhile, a CleanTechies’ member started a most interesting series on the matter and one of my follower on Twitter wonders if it should be supported. Personally I think we should reduce, reuse and recycle first –

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Why solar air conditioning is a fantastic idea

In these times of heat waves – it was 37°C here in France yesterday  – we all know that solar energy can heat places but it seems the sun could also cool them down thanks to air conditioning. Even if this is not entirely new as I read about such technologies as early as 2005

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Can natural gas be an alternative to coal ?

I read in The Daily Green an article on how natural gas could be a solution to environmental and energy issues in the United States as it emits half the carbon dioxide of coal and roughly 25 percent less than oil. Another advantage of this fossil fuel is that there are ample reserves in America

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Floating wind turbine may be a game changer

Offshore wind energy may soon change thanks to a new kind of turbines that literally floats on water. The first 2.3 MW prototype was installed 10 kilometers off the Norwegian coasts on June 8th. Developed jointly by Siemens and StatoilHydro the Hywind windmill can be located where seas depths reach from 120 to 700 meters,

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Energy efficiency could save America $1.2 trillion

According to a new study by Mc Kinsey, the USA could save up to $1.2 trillion (833 billion euros) by 2020 thanks to energy efficiency. Homes and businesses could cut by 28 percent their bills while industries could cut theirs by 20 percent. The more data I gather, the more I believe America could become

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Jordan, Chile and many others are going nuclear

Last week Jordan announced plans to build a nuclear reactor by 2013. Other are due to follow.  This is done to answer the country’s energy needs which are due to double by 2030. This is a big issue as Jordan imports 95% of its energy. It is the opportunity to focus on an interesting article

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